this/next weekend, again, still...

[Indigo Som]

May I flog this dead horse a little more? I am wondering if the next/this
weekend confusion has gotten worse over time? I seem to remember learning
"next weekend" when I was a kid, & it was supposed to mean the one that's
coming up, no matter what part of the week you were in. If you were already
in a weekend it meant the one in a week. I don't remember confusing other
people with this, or being confused by their saying it either, except
rarely.

Since following this discussion & thinking it over, I could swear that over
time it has become gradually less and less clear, to the point where now I
*never* say or hear "next weekend" without elaborate clarification: If
someone says it to me, I ask, "You mean this coming one, or the one after
that?" or "You mean two days from now, or the weekend after that?" If I'm
the one talking I say one of these:

"next weekend -- the weekend after this coming one" (if speaking on a
Thursday or Friday)
"next weekend -- the one coming up" (if speaking on a Monday)
"this coming weekend" (any day of the week)
"next weekend, a week from now" (speaking on a weekend)
"the weekend of the 31st"
"this Saturday" or "on Saturday"

I realize this perception could also be a function of 1) children not
having to be so intense about scheduling & 2) children mostly scheduling
things with the same people who taught them to speak in the first place &
3) my memory not being nearly as clear as I think it is! But I feel like
the clarification contortions have become more necessary even just during
my adult life.

"This weekend" *usually* seems pretty clear, meaning the one that hits
soonest. (I guess it means what "next weekend" used to mean for me when I
was a kid.)

Re "this weekend" in the past tense, I'm more likely to say "what did you
do over the weekend?" but have no problem with "what did you do this
weekend?"

Indigo -- SF Bay Area since birth 1966 (except for 2 years mid80s in
Providence RI)

Indigo Som
indigo at well.com

Album of the Week: Freakwater, Old Paint (1995)